Seasons of sexual violence: Summer is the peak

Why does the number of rapes increase in the summer? Why do sexual maniacs get more excited when it’s hot? How is it possible to avoid a sexual assault during this time of the year?

The press-service of the Russian Ministry for Internal Affairs sent letters to the schools of big cities, asking the teaching staff to prepare a special lecture at the end of May (before summer vacation). The goal of that special lecture was the prevention of sexual violence. The reason for such a measure was the frightening statistics: the number of rapes increases hundreds of times every year! Law-enforcement bodies know the most dangerous cities, regions, and even hours when sexual violence usually takes place.

St.Petersburg is the leader of sexually dangerous cities in Russia, although this seems rather strange. Vitaly Litvin from the press-service of the St.Petersburg Internal Affairs Department said, “Psychologists explain the growth of sexual violence in a simple way: the period when spring ends and summer begins is a period of increased sexual activity of the human body after a long “winter sleep.” In addition, there is a natural instinct added here, because girls wear short skirts and sexy outfits. However, why is St.Petersburg and not Moscow number one? I think the reason is the city's architecture. There are many dark streets in St.Petersburg, dark nooks, ect. A criminal does not dare attack a victim on an illuminated street, but, in St.Petersburg, he can easily drag a woman into a dark nook or something, and the victim will never see his face. One-hundred thirty raped women came to police last June, and 56 of them could not describe their rapist's face. Police officers sought 70 male criminals by the middle of August. There is nothing surprising about this. These are not maniacs; these are normal people. Just try to imagine: a guy is walking along the street, perhaps a bit drunk, and then he sees a beautiful girl. Most likely, he will want to become acquainted with her, and if he sees that the street is dark and there are no passers-by, then this may cause him to break the law. This was proven by one rapist who was arrested. Thirty-eight-year-old Yevgeny Frolov worked as a loader in a deli. He attacked an 18-year-old girl not very far from the place of his work. The girl went to police very quickly, and the scoundrel was arrested. He said that he did not know what made him do it: “I just saw her and I wanted her; I couldn’t resist. Something clicked in my head, and I lost control.”

Valentina Provorotova, the manager of the emergency phone line for women, said: “Any person can be attacked in any place. Never this that this will not happen to you. It often happens that ordinary people become really harmful, not just maniacs or psychos. There have been incidents when married men have been arrested, men with good families, jobs, ect. At that moment, they had an impulse, and they could not do a thing about it; they could not suppress there emotions. Speaking about seasons of violence, summer comes first, of course. This is common for the entire territory of Russia. Nothing is registered in certain regions in winter, but when summer comes, the number of crimes is shocking.

Vitaly Litvin: “Pursuant to the Russian Federation Criminal Code, sexual abuse performed by one person only, is punished by three or up to six years in prison. This form of abuse is the most common one. Criminal proceedings will be instituted only if a victim asks. However, group or planned rapes are rather rare in the summer. The press-service of the Russian Internal Affairs Ministry reported that there were 270 rapes reported in Moscow during the three summer months 2000. In 2001, the figure increased to 631.”

Psychologist Maria Golavleva: the most important thing to do if you are attacked, is to attract the attention of those people around you. If you are near a bus stop in the evening, go to a street lamp, find someone else in order not to be completely alone, or scream in the long run. Do not be afraid to look weird if you sense a danger. If there is a need to be afraid. Break shop-windows, or anything else that can be broken that can attract people’s attention immediately. Try to hit him in the bridge of his nose. If you show strong resistance, you may have a moment to grab his head and bend in down vigorously, lifting your knee up to his nose. There are less aggressive ways of self-defense as well: there were several incidents when a victim started laughing out loud. A rapist thought that his victim was laughing at his sexual problems, so he didn't do anything. If you are raped, then the first thing that you should do is go to police. Do not throw your underwear away, as it might be stained with sperm. Do not take a shower or a bath until you undergo an examination. Try to keep your clothes and the things that the criminal might have dropped.

Translated by Dmitry Sudakov

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